


Destiny Always Surprises

by mscrutherford



Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types, Wiedźmin | The Witcher Series - Andrzej Sapkowski
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Fanfiction, Female Witcher, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Inspired by The Witcher, Mild Sexual Content, Post-The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Smut, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, The Witcher Lore, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:33:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27645530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mscrutherford/pseuds/mscrutherford
Summary: Geralt no longer expected anything from destiny, and even no expectation from life. Edda, who appeared in this dark period, proved once again that his destiny was still full of surprises.
Kudos: 1





	Destiny Always Surprises

-1-

It was the last time he saw Yennefer. The sorceress intervened as she always did while he was sitting in the hut of the Crone that he killed to retrieve Ciri’s medallion. He was holding the medallion in his hand, and waiting for the death resignedly from the monsters surrounding him. Suddenly he had seen a portal opened, and one hand pulled him in it. As he opened his eyes later, he was lying in the middle of a meadow. Yen was standing over him. Her violet eyes were different than the usual with distant and ice-cold looks.

"Do it like a man if you want to die," she said "And this is my last favor to you."

“I don't remember I’ve wanted you to do me a favor,” Geralt grumbled. Yennefer had watched Geralt without speaking for a while. Her thoughts could not be read from her eyes or face, as always.

"You're not the only one suffering because of Ciri's death," she said. "What would have she felt if she had been here and seen you giving up? Suicide is not your destiny, Witcher. Your fate is to die while fighting a monster. To die at the end of a combat. Ciri did like this, she died heroically. ”Although the expression on her face did not change, her voice was trembling.“ She died like a Witcher. Will you kill yourself like a coward? ”

“Why does this concern you?” Geralt muttered, looking down at the shadows of the distant mountains, turning his head to one side.

“It doesn't concern me anymore,” Yennefer said, “But if you want to die, go and face death but don't place yourself like an offering to it! ”

Geralt did not turn and look at the woman. There was nothing left for either of them to speak anymore. They had continued for a while after Yennefer broke the magic bond between the two of them through a jinn. Until Ciri’s death... Then they understood that the only bond between them was actually Ciri. She was the cotton thread that made a toxic, unstable relationship to go on. And the thread was now broken. Yennefer opened another portal without further talking, and Witcher did not see her again.

Geralt had never been related to politics, but some events that developed during the Third North war eventually led the head of Redanian Intelligence, Sigismund Dijkstra to become King of Redania. With intervention of Geralt of course. King Dijkstra also prevented the invader Nifgaard from advancing further north thus their absolute victory. Nilfgaard, who had to truce with the northern kingdoms, was reluctantly sitting well-behaved in the land they captured. Geralt had decided to stay in the north, in an environment of uncertain tranquility and peace. There were still monsters there to be killed, after all. As Yen said, he faced death with each fight. But it still didn't take him.

-2-

He was on the territory of Lyria, traveling around the mountains. Due to the development and growth of cities, monsters were now only the problem of villages and towns on the mountain border. He hadn't won much from his last job. This was the disadvantage of visiting the villages. Or as he got older, he became even more softhearted about reward bargaining.

He entered the village of which name he did not know and did not want to learn then realized that things were quieter than usual. The day was about to end. Human noises were coming from the inn, but this was not like the laughter or loud conversation of the peasants who were drunk in an ordinary inn. As he arrived, he understood that some kind of meeting had been going on. After tying his horse in front of the inn, Geralt entered.

The crowd didn't notice him. Because they turned their attention to a plump man who was standing on a chair. Although it wasn't too hot inside, the man was sweating as if he was in a sauna. Anxiety and fear could be seen on his face.

“It's your fault, Redvik!” A woman squeaked. The man standing beside her shook his head with an expression of agreement. "We lost all our money because of you!" Another man shouted, "Now we are both broke and cursed!"

Apparently nobody had any intention of dealing with Geralt. He looked to the left side and saw the innkeeper rubbing a glass, obviously worried about an incident and following mess. He walked slowly in that direction, passing through the crowd.

“What's going on here?” Geralt asked the innkeeper. The man turned towards him then unintentionally, a funny expression of surprise appeared on his face. It was clear that he did not expect to see a stranger and a mutant in front of him. In a cautious manner:

"There is a village meeting stranger," he said.

“I realized that much. Well, may I learn this important issue that brings the whole village here? ”

"You're a Witcher, aren't you?" asked the innkeeper instead of answering his question. Now all his anxiety and surprise left its place to contempt. Geralt confirmed him in a bored attitude.

“One of yours disappeared after getting all the village's savings,” he said nervously. He acted as if Geralt had taken the money.

The turn of surprise came to the Witcher, “One of ours? A Witcher? ”

"Yes," said the innkeeper with a harsh tone and spat on the ground. Geralt was also very familiar with this kind of act against him. He patiently waited for the innkeeper to speak again:

“The idiot who stood there on the chair gave all of our money to a frail woman to lift the curse in one of the fields in the village,” the innkeeper said. He was trying to control his nerves. “I told him a woman cannot be a Witcher. But he didn't listen to me. Now that cheater wench hasn't been around for a day and wraith is still prowling around the field. That field has the most fertile soil. We can not cultivate the soil as the wraith wanders there so you’ll understand it is near us to die of starvation.” People always loved to exaggerate, but a female Witcher was something that even ignorant villagers could not imagine. Geralt knew he was the only remaining Witcher. But for a moment he thought it could be Ciri. It was a very, very remote possibility, yet he asked with hope:

"What did that of your female Witcher look like?"

The innkeeper shrugged:

“I have not seen her very well. She was talking to Redvik last night at the inn. All I know that she has red eyes and red hair. I have never seen such a vivid red before. And she was tiny. I knew that she couldn't even kill a mouse. "

This could not be Ciri. Red eyes and red hair. She couldn't be any Witcher he knew.

The innkeeper stopped for a moment:

"What's your name, Witcher?"

“Geralt of Rivia” he replied quietly. Inkeeper almost dropped the glass in his hand.

"Gods has sent you to us!" he said excitedly, "Can you help us?"

“You just said you were broke. Of course I can help but how do you intend to pay?” The excitement of the innkeeper faded, his old humiliating and nervous state had returned.

"Of course, I forgot you Witchers don't have feelings," he said, "Does he care if the whole village will starve? No, it is always the reward! ”Geralt tried to keep calm so as not to smash the man's huge face. He took a deep breath. Meanwhile, Redvik was trying to suppress the loud objections:

"You will see she will come back," he yelled, "Our money wasn't wasted, she will be back!"

Geralt to innkeeper:

“All right, she is probably dead as a result of attacking a wraith or agonizing somewhere. If I kill the wraith, I’ll get her reward money"

“If you find the woman, I guess she is carrying it on herself, the reward could be yours.”

Then innkeeper whistled and drew the attention of the crowd:

“Hey guys, this is Geralt of Rivia! He will kill the Wraith for us ”

Geralt felt strange as all eyes were turned on him. Someone not seen in the back shouted:

"Get out of here! We don't have any more money for another Witcher."

This time the innkeeper responded with a wise smile on his face, but this "wise" image did not sit well on him:

“I made a deal with him. He will only take the reward money on the woman killed by the Wraith "

Geralt, who felt uncomfortable in front of the curious crowd asked:

"Well where is this cursed field of yours?"

-3-

The moon illuminated the night. But even if it was pitch dark, it would be no problem for the Witcher. He stopped Roach at the edge of the field. It was very quiet around, if there was a wraith around, usually even birds would not be in that area. His medallion moved. Wraith must have been ahead of the field. He started hearing the sounds as he slowly walked towards the middle of the field. Wraith's screams were interfering with someone’s angry screams. It was definitely a woman's voice. A female Witcher he never met. Geralt understood that she was not an ordinary mutant since the fight was taking so long and the woman was alone. Curiosity led him to accelerate his steps.

The woman was facing away, she settled back with an agile move and threw herself off the sword swept by the wraith then tumbled backwards quickly. Keeping her sword in the forward defense position, she moved away from the creature slowly. When she reached an appropriate distance she stretched out her hand and drew an invisible triangle in the air. Wraith was covered in flames and cried out in pain then disappeared. However Geralt knew that the Igni sign wouldn't work on wraiths, the monster had been teleported. Suddenly it appeared behind the woman and tossed its sword. She stopped it with her own sword, then quickly turned her face to the creature. Although Geralt found it exciting and enjoyable to watch this fight, he came near immediately and made a sign of Yrden with his hand. At that moment, the wraith suddenly fell into flesh. Geralt drew his sword and stuck it into the creature without hesitation. Wraith screamed in a sinister voice and died.

The woman looked at the dead monster lying on the ground, then at Geralt. He cut the creature's head with a sword stroke, took the head off the ground and placed it between the legs of the corpse. Then he made the sign of Igni and set the body on fire.

“Who are you?” the woman asked, still in surprise.

“Geralt of Rivia” Witcher replied, “What about you?” She pushed back a pinch of hair on her face with an angry gesture: “Edda ...of nowhere”

"You're welcome Edda of Nowhere ”said Geralt in a sarcastic tone.

"Pardon me?"

"You were going to thank me for saving your life and I said you’re welcome."

"What? You ... you didn't save my life, ”she said angrily “If you didn’t poke your nose into my combat I would kill it”

“With the wrong sign? Igni is not used for wraiths ”

"Whatever!" she was still angry. She placed her sword in its sheath and talked “I will get the reward. I came here before you. I also injured it enough to kill. You just hit the last blow. ”

Geralt examined the woman before answering. Her red hair was falling to her long chin. Her eyes were the same as those of Geralt, except that they were red. Almond-shaped, slightly slanted, large eyes. Her skin was white and contrasted with the worn, black leather armor that she was wearing. She was thin, as the villagers said, and not very tall. In this state she looked more like a young girl than a woman. Tonight could not have been more surprising and entertaining for the Witcher.

“Still, I am the one who hit the last blow,” Geralt said, crossing his arms. He wasn't hiding that he was having fun. “Villagers will look at the result. The reward is mine ”

Edda's eyes widened. She pressed her shaped lips together. She looked like a cat with her small and narrow nose and narrowed lips. A cat that is covered in mud due to the fight. Geralt tried not to laugh.

"No!" Edda jumped on, "I will not give or share the reward!" She took her hand to her sword. "Come and have a try!" Geralt became serious. He wasn't going to kill a woman for a penny.

"Keep calm a little bit," he said, "It is clear that you need this reward very much."

Edda hesitated before taking her hand off her sword. But the man before her had made no moves.

"I am trying to save money for a new armor and boots," she said softly, "And this is the second job I did for a reward."

It was obvious that the woman had been wearing the clothes for a very long time. It was impossible to be an experienced Witcher and stand so miserable.

"All right, Edda," said Geralt. "Come, let me order you some food at the inn. You keep your money. By the way, you tell me your story ”

Edda looked at Geralt in a timid manner. She was trying to predict if any harm could come from him. Although his voice sounded strange and threatening, he also had a reassuring tone. She saw another mutant for the first time, except for her former mentor. He was a tall man with white hair and yellow cat eyes. He seemed a bit old, but not too much. He had tied his hair with a buckle from behind. His beard on his face was white like his hair and shaved properly. There was a deep scar on the left side of his face, starting from his forehead and ending under his cheek. It was apparent that he was an experienced Witcher. His body was slim but well built that was noticed even under his clothing. She realized that if she had a fight with him, she wouldn't have survived. She had no choice but to accept his offer and she was also starving.

They started to walk to the edge of the field together. Geralt said: "The villagers told me you hadn't been around for a day. They were worried that you had taken their money and fled." Edda laughed nervously: “This is exactly what to expect from them. I did not stay in the village after I agreed with the guy called Redvik last night. I had no money, I camped outside. In the morning, I wandered all day in the field and around it to find the corpse of the wraith, but I couldn't find a trace. If I could find the body, I wouldn't have to go into this fight. I waited for the wraith to appear when it got dark and I fought. I don't know what a Witcher is in the mind of these peasants, but they think everything will be finished in a few hours when there is a monster problem.” They reached the main road, Edda put fingers to her mouth and whistled. A black mare, as dark as the night came out and walked to her.

Geralt was surprised. For some reason he had not noticed the horse as he entered the field, and when the animal came to them, his medallion moved.

“What's this?” Geralt asked, not hiding his surprise. Edda didn't first understand what he was asking, but then she smiled and answered, “Oh that? Her name is Satin. She is a very special horse”

“Is this a monster?” Geralt asked again.

Edda resented, and the mare nodded with a strong ‘puff’ sound as though she understood what he was saying.

“Satin was created with magic and mutation like me, but she’s not a monster. She is special.” Edda replied, without hiding her resentment “And she understands what you're saying. She said that you are a ruffian.” Then explained more:

“Satin reads mind and talks to me in the same way. We often chat with each other. She is my fellow traveller.” Meanwhile, she was stroking the neck of the mare with gentle movements. “She is a companion and my best friend”

Geralt turned and looked at Roach. The stud shook his head as if he understood him.

Edda chuckled. “Apparently you are chatting with Roach,too. Satin said so. ”

“Does your horse speak to other animals too?” 

Edda winked cheerfully, "I told you she was very special."

As they were sitting in the inn, he curiously watched the woman devouring the food like a hungry wolf.

“Tell me, Witcher Edda,” Geralt said. She took a big sip of beer and swallowed the bites in her mouth.

"What do you want to know?"

"Where are you coming from? How did you become a Witcher, what are you doing here? ”

She began to tell without taking her eyes away from the food:

“I know that there is no Witcher school anymore, but I still got Witcher training. I guess I'm the only survivor of the mutants created like me. ”

"Who made you a mutant?"

"I do not remember. I hardly remember anything from my past. Except what my mentor told me. When a criminal organization called Salamandra attacked Kaer Morhen years ago, they also stole the secrets of the Witchers. Potions, mutagen formulas, everything. These secrets somehow reached the sorcerers in Nilfgaard, and they decided to use them as a weapon. To build an army of mutants and take over the whole Continent.” Geralt made a restless voice when he heard the names he knew. It was he who killed Azar Javed, Professor and sorcerer in the Salamandra organization. Edda curiously followed the expression on the man's face:

“You know, there is no problem finding an orphan child for such a big kingdom as a test subject. Almost all children died during the experiments. The castle where I was made mutant was hidden somewhere near north. They continued experiments for a few years. But things were progressing slowly and unsuccessfully, so at the end of Third North War Nilfgaard accepted the ceasefire, they decided to close the castle. Of course, they tried to eliminate the subjects who remained alive in order to prevent them being seized by others. But my mentor and a couple of his mutant friends managed to escape. Before leaving the castle, Einluth, my mentor, heard that I barely breathed in a room where other dead children were thrown. I was unconscious. They took me too and went up to the mountains in the north. Einluth and I lived there with nomadic elves. ”

"Elves?" Geralt was impressed by her story. Edda nodded. “Einluth was an elf,” she said, “He never told me his own story, but his being an elf made others accept us. He took some notes with him while he was running away. I learned some potions and signs from there. Einluth taught me the Witcher fighting style. He also learned it in the castle. So we protected the elves we lived with against monsters in the mountains. We made ourselves useful. ”

"What happened next?" asked Geralt curiously, "Why did you leave the mountains?"

"It turned out that Einluth was not a successful experiment." she said in a sad tone. "Harmful mutations in his body had been going on. These mutations increased as he got older. He got sick and died. The elf community who accepted us with Einluth’s insistence did not want me anymore. Although we were useful for them, they did not want to see me among them. So I decided to go down from the mountains and try my luck with people. I soon learned that Witchers existed and killed monsters for money. Einluth never used this term when he was teaching me.” Edda took a break from her story and drank her beer. Geralt kept listening to her carefully.

“Anyway, I left the mountains, learned that what I was doing was actually a profession, and a few weeks ago I did my first job. This was the second one. ”

“You still used the wrong sign in wraith”

Edda was embarrassed, shrugged with a shy attitude:

“Einluth had saved as much information as he could from the castle while escaping, but not all. So I don't know some potions or signs. Also, I don't know most of the monsters except for superficial information, except for those in the mountains. It was the first time I fought a wraith tonight.”

Geralt found the story very interesting, but offered to retreat to their rooms because it was late. He was planning to hit the road tomorrow and make money in another village or town.

The room was small with a single bed. This was a village inn therefore a large and luxurious room should not be expected. They were looking at the bathtub placed by the fire.

"I'm sorry," said Geralt with blushing. "I didn't think the innkeeper would want so much money for two separate rooms, food and bathroom. After saving the village from starvation. Thank goodness he did not charge for food and drinks.”

"It's okay," said Edda with understanding.

“You take a bath and sleep in bed. You need this more than me, ”said Geralt.

While Edda was bathing, a smell of thyme was hanging in the room due to the soap. Geralt studied the woman in the bathtub with pensive eyes. She had scars on her narrow, white shoulders and arms. She probably had similar marks on her parts hidden under water. Just like himself. It was certain that she was different from the women he had known so far. She was more athletic. And looked younger.

“How old were you when Einluth found you?” Geralt asked.

Edda smiled, "Are you asking a lady her age? I think I was transformed at the age of 9 or 10. I spent 10 winters in the mountains with Einruth, and it hasn't been long since I came here. ”

It turned out that Edda was really young. If she was not an unsuccessful experiment like Einluth, she had a very long life ahead. Of course, she also had missing knowledge in the Witcher profession and little experience. This was a good reason for her life to end too early. Meanwhile, Geralt had noticed that he had been watching Edda a little too much. “ _You old lecher_!” he thought and turned his gaze to another side. Wasn't he a little too old to be charmed by a young woman? Suddenly, his old friend Dandelion came to his mind. If he were with him, he would probably advise him to let go of this situation, talk about the metaphors of an old wolf and a young woman and compose a song. But Geralt no longer came together with his friends to get rid of his painful past. Meeting with them meant remembering Ciri with an indescribable pain filled his heart again.

Edda wrapped in a towel and walked out of the bathtub and grimaced, looking at her dirty clothes. She did not want to wear them while lying down. It was best to sleep naked tonight. Geralt, meanwhile, turned away, and patiently waited for the young woman to come out of the tub and lie down on the bed and pull the cover over her. Then he had laid his own mat and slept on the floor next to the nearly extinguishing fire.

After a while, Edda asked softly: "Are you sleeping Geralt?" The Witcher knew that calling of a woman in this way would always have bad consequences. "I'm trying to sleep," he said in a tense voice, without breaking his position, with his back facing the bed.

“Will you teach me to be a Witcher?” Edda asked. There was great hope in her voice. Geralt once again saw that he was not wrong about “the danger of questions posed by women from the bed”.

"No," he said in a certain tone. “I can't teach you to be a Witcher” The memories of the time he trained Ciri flooded his mind as if they had broken a barrier. One way or another, he couldn't be connected to someone again. He wasn't sure his heart could handle it. He could not go back to the same path after he had severely disconnected his ties with the past and tried so hard to forget his memories. He was carrying Ciri’s medallion on his neck next to his, and perhaps it was the heaviest burden he had carried throughout his life.

Edda had no intention of giving up: “Please,” she insisted, “You will see how good a student I am. I…"

"No," Geralt said again, in an angry tone, then turned to bed. In contrast to the innocent gaze of the young woman, there was pain and anger in his eyes:

“My advice to you is to give up your ambition to be a Witcher, little miss . Find another job to make money for yourself ”

"But I don't know anything else," said Edda in an offended voice, "I have no other talent. But if I could be a Witcher… ”

"Be something else before you kill yourself." Geralt replied sharply "You know how to fight, become a village guard or a mercenary to earn money! It doesn't even matter if you want to set up a criminal organization. But do not mess with monsters! ”

Edda did not respond, she could not control the tears rolling from her beautiful red eyes, so she turned her back on Geralt angrily and did not speak again.

-4-

When Edda got up the next morning, Geralt was gone. She was dressed in frustration and sadness. Before leaving the inn, the innkeeper called the young woman and slipped a new shirt and a pair of new boots in her hand. Edda saw an old and small piece of fabric on top of the items. A note was written on it: “listen to my advice, lady. G. ”

Edda angrily left the inn, but for some reason she took the note with her, instead of throwing it away.

Geralt was watching the campfire he had lit with contemplative eyes. Taking the items he bought for Edda into account, he was officially penniless until a new reward. Suddenly, Yennefer came to his mind. If she saw this situation, she would probably give him a conference on "stupid old men who feed money to young girls." He swore at his fortune, which led him to meet Edda. Since their first encounter he has started to remember the past. He had left the young woman at the inn and set off. He was alone again, supposed to be relieved. But for some reason he was very nervous. Because he knew from inside that Edda would not let her ambition to go off. That she would make a fatal mistake against a creature she never knew. He had very good reasons to reject the young woman's request for education. Nevertheless it did not change the fact that he turned his back on a young Witcher candidate who needed this training. Suddenly he felt very tired and laid down to sleep. He hoped to meet the new day with a more comfortable conscience.

Before he woke up, he saw Edda in his dream. It was that inn’s room, she was lying in the bed naked. Geralt was not dressed either. He had gone to bed and laid down next to the young woman. Geralt groaned because he wanted to wake up before his dream got more heated. He was reaching over to Edda and managed to wake himself up by jumping at the last minute. But he saw that the only part that awakened in his body was not his brain only. He was grateful for he was alone then prepared to set off.

He was not in a hurry to go on the road, so Roach was walking at a slow pace. Ever since Geralt started his travel, Edda was the only thing in his mind. "She must have bewitched me," he thought, "It cannot be the other way, she must have put a spell on me in the field or in the inn's room that night." On the other hand, his more sensible part whispered: " _Or this is the remorse of leaving a young woman to die by herself. You are getting old and you are being soft hearted. You have never been a very unscrupulous person though. Especially if you think about all the trolls you have encountered in the past and spared their life._ ”

He pulled up the Roach’s halter and stopped the horse, swore: “Fuck!” He turned the horse back to the village where they had been the night before and galloped.

After asking a few people, including the innkeeper, in the village, a small boy pointed the direction of the red-haired woman with his finger. Witcher had no choice but to trust the child because adults couldn't help Geralt as they didn't care where a Witcher went.

The next village was an ordinary place. It was noon. As men and women went to work in the fields, there were only old people and children running around on the road. Geralt went directly to the village inn. The innkeeper here was chubby and big-faced like in the other village, but had a more sympathetic appearance.

“I'm looking for a Witcher,” he said hopefully to the innkeeper. “A woman with red hair, red eyes ..” An old woman standing behind the innkeeper interrupted without needing to describe further:

"Oh yes, that young girl," shook her head with sadness. Geralt was surprised. He did not expect everything to develop so quickly. Had he lost Ciri and Yen first and Edda now?

He must have been under the influence of a heavy and serious curse. "What happened?" he asked, trying to speak with all his strength.

Seeing the ghastly face of the Witcher, the innkeeper asked with worry: "Was she a close friend?"

Geralt was keeping himself hard not to scream with anger. Damn people were always chatty, but when it came to tell important things they didn't talk. "What happened?" he repeated between his teeth. The old woman fled into the kitchen, not hiding her fear of the threatening Witcher. The innkeeper left with Geralt swallowed: “We had a ghoul problem in the village cemetery. She offered help, of course, for a fee.” Geralt closed his eyes. The most dangerous creatures that Edda could have encountered were the ghouls. These creatures preferred places such as a cemetery or a battlefield where decaying corpses abound for feeding. Of course, they wouldn't forget to eat people who were stupid enough to enter an infested cemetery late at night. But it was not possible to find so many corpses in the mountains, so they would not settle there. She could never have met them before. They also lived in groups and were poisonous. Even an experienced Witcher would prefer not to mess with them if possible. Edda had faced them alone. “We found her seriously injured in the cemetery in the morning,” the innkeeper continued, “She had dealt with them. But she was both injured and poisoned. We took her to the healer of our village. She's there now, I’m afraid she's not getting better," 

“Where's the healer?” Geralt asked sharply.

He stopped Roach in front of the hut built deep in the woods outside the village. He quickly ran to the door and punched it as if he wanted to break it.

An old woman opened the door. It was obvious that she was afraid of him knocking on the door so fiercely. Geralt asked hastily:

“Is she here?” The woman took the Witcher inside without saying anything and led him to a section back of the room separated by a curtain.

There was no way to explain the image of Edda. She was moaning in pain and talking in her sleep. There were ointments and bandages put by the healer on her arms and shoulders. A bitter plant smell was inside the compartment.

"The Ghouls had bitten," said the healer in a calm voice, "She was poisoned. I did my best” 

“Was there any potions with her?” Geralt asked, “Any Witcher potions?”

She shook her head with sadness. “No, there was nothing with her. She has been struggling with her own power for about a day. She is a very strong girl, but she is getting weaker. I don't know if she will see the next day.” Edda screamed heart-breakingly. She was talking and sweating. When she unconsciously threw the cover on her, her naked body, enwrapped with bandages, appeared:

“No Einruth! I don't want to enter that cave! I'm scared ... please "

Geralt immediately put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a small bottle of potion. "Hold her tight," he ordered the woman. He opened the convulsing girl's jaw, emptied all the potion and made her swallow it. There were a lot of bite wounds so he didn't know how much potion would work. Thus he had emptied all of it. Edda started trembling. The woman forcibly covered her. Edda talked again, but her voice was lower as she was about to go to a deep sleep:

"Geralt," she said.

While the old woman was doing her chores inside the house, she occasionally threw a glance at the Witcher. The man was watching the young girl sitting on a chair without moving like a statue. He was tired but refused to sleep.

Edda continued to murmur in her deep sleep. She pronounced a few elf names. Before she was silent, she said, “Please don't send me.” She probably was dreaming of the elves she had been with. "Please ... do not send. I will do whatever you want ”

Geralt was full of anger. He shouldn't have left Edda this way. He now realized how selfish he was, and he was furious.

Edda opened her eyes when the new day was about to rise. She smiled exhaustively as she saw Geralt. “I got them,” she said with a faint voice and fell asleep again.

It was a bit past noon when she woke up fully and straightened up in bed. Contrary to the sulking expression on Geralt's face, the healer woman smiled happily.

"Let me prepare something for you," she said, and left the hut.

“Why?” Geralt asked briefly. Edda carefully studied the man. He looked exhausted. She replied in a cautious manner:

"I had to do it," she said, "To make money."

“I told you to give up”

“Yes, but I can't. I have to do this to feed my belly and sleep in a place with a roof every night. ”

“You will kill yourself”

“Then these problems will disappear, right?” She said with a bitter smile. “Look, Geralt. I will continue to be a Witcher whether you want to understand it or not. If necessary, I will die in this path. ”

“I can't always be there to save you”

"I know," Edda said softly, "I always had this in mind while fighting the Ghouls. I knew that I was always alone and I always had to struggle alone to survive, but I also wanted to live. I think this thought gave me the strength that I needed to defeat those monsters. And my silver sword helped of course. ”

Geralt looked into the young woman's eyes without saying anything. Now he understood better why he came back. Although she looked tired, there was a tremendous life energy radiating from Edda. He had felt this energy from the moment they met. Unlike Geralt, death was trying to get Edda, but she did not surrender. And the Witcher wanted some of this energy to himself so he could hold on to life. Perhaps Edda would also give him the strength to accept what happened in the past and look forward.

"I'm going to train you," he said at last, with a serious attitude. “But no doubt that it will be a harsh and brutal education”

Edda could not speak, there was a great expression of surprise and happiness on her face.

After eating the food prepared by the healer woman, they left the hut together.

They were riding their horses slowly side by side and chatting. It was a very warm and sunny day for the north.

“Have you ever thought about getting married?” Geralt asked. Edda shrugged: "No. There was never a man worth it. ”

"So there was no man in your life?"

Edda smiled “If you're asking if I'm a virgin, I'm not”

Geralt shyly cleared his throat. "I was just wondering because you are so young."

"I may be inexperienced at being a Witcher, but I'm not inexperienced at that thing." Edda said, then continued with a thoughtful mood:

“There was an elf before I ended up here. His name was Torlad. I didn't know how I felt towards him. But I was wondering what it was like to be with a boy as a young girl. Like every man, Torlad did not miss this opportunity. ”

"Weren’t you happy with him?" Edda looked at Geralt:

“I don't know what to answer,” she said. “If you asked my feelings, I realized that I didn't like him after sleeping together. Also, making love is not a big thing. ”

Geralt did not answer. " _It is because you didn’t meet a real man_ ," he thought unavoidably. Edda stared at Witcher with a shocked expression: “Satin just said…” Geralt was also very surprised. "Your horse speaks a lot," he grunted, then he rode forward by accelerating his horse to hide his embarrassment.


End file.
